Renting car at MCO with only a debit card?

[Disneyliscious]

Hi. For the first time we are flying to MCO instead of making the 12 hour drive we normally make. I will need to rent a car. I do have a bank debit card and cash and/or money in my bank account. I do NOT have a credit card and I do not have the best credit.

Has anyone rented a car using a debit card only?
Are there any rental car companies that do not run credit checks?

I don't mind paying a cash deposit or having them hold a deposit on my debit card in addition to the price of the rental but have read some places run credit checks on debit cards.

Would appreciate hearing your experiences.

 

[joxer1014]

Hi

Im in the same boat. If you rent from Alamo or National they accept debit cards for payment but I had to provide a regular credit card to make a reservation online. I would guess that you would have to call if you do not have that kind of card. They do not place any holds on your card. I have done this myself last year and I have a reservation coming up in the next few weeks. Same set up. The one thing you need to have when you pick up the car is a print out of your return flight itinerary. I don't know why.

If you use the other companies, it seems they all place a hold on your card. They hold the cost of the rental plus 20%. You can find all this info on the rental sites under the payment rules.

I never had them run any kind of credit check.

Hope this helps.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Go to your rental car's website; it will explain the procedure for renting with a debit card.

 

[Disneyliscious]

Go to your rental car's website; it will explain the procedure for renting with a debit card.

Well yes, I understand this. But there are several rental companies and I figured it would be easier to just ask here instead of having to go t hrough them all. As I stated above, I had already been reading some of them but some appear a bit iffy. Telling me that they run a credit check only tells me that they run a credit check. I was asking for feedback from those who don't have good credit and thats something no car companies rules can tell me - personal experiences of others.

I have found EZ Rent A Car and they do not do a credit check. Their rates are higher but I don't mind having to pay a bit more in order to secure a rental. I haven't used a credit card since 2009 so I dare say Im still coming out ahead even if paying a bit more for a rental by not having a CC compared to what I would have paid in CC fees. And yes, I know many people don't pay CC fees and have CC's but I was never one of those people.

Joxxy, thanks for the info. That does help a great deal!

 

[siberian57]

I managed a National/Alamo in the Northeast and I can tell you that the company does accept debit cards but generally only at airports. The home city locations tend to have different rules. Airport locations will usually request a copy of your round trip ticket showing your arrival and departure out of the same airport but do not run credit checks. Some locations will take a 20% deposit on top of the rental costs as well for security. Other than that you shouldn't have a problem using it. My location didn't require credit cards at the time of booking in case plans changed. That only tends to happen if they have Credit Card Guarantees in place because of the demand or if you prepaid through a third party website.

Like lostincyberspace said, you can check online for the debit card qualifications. There's usually an information bubble on the screen as you select the car class and it will tell you everything. However, I might call the customer service line and either speak to a reservation agent or ask to speak to an agent at the counter at MCO to get 100% clarification.

This is a policy that doesn't differ much between locations but some regions have their own sub policies that are unique to their area with additional drivers, debit qualifications, etc. It never hurts to check with the location. However I feel pretty confident they'll just ask for a copy of your round trip itinerary and you will be good to go.

 

[Disneyluv111]

I need to rent a car because my hubby wants me to. This is what I have found so far.

Budget.com allows Debit, just check in at the counter.

N U Car rentals allows debit, have to take shuttle to get the rental car.

If you rent with budget I can give you a code. Let me know.